C&S Partners With Relex on Smart Forecasting Solutions
C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. has selected Relex Solutions, a provider of unified supply chain and planning solutions, to bolster its planning processes. Relex will help streamline C&S’s technical landscape for demand forecasting and automatic replenishment, with the aim of not only enhancing the customer experience, but also of driving C&S’s long-term growth plans with a scalable technology solution.
“C&S is continuously innovating every aspect of our operations to enhance our customers’ experience,” said Michael Papaleo, C&S’ EVP and chief procurement officer. “With Relex, we will be able to better predict and plan for their needs – today and in the future – with a flexible and agile technical solution that will grow with our company.”
In early 2023, Relex and C&S will begin testing the new system, which promises to offer transparency and flexibility in supply chain management, enabling highly accurate planning.
“C&S and Relex have a similar culture of improvement and dedication to optimization,” said Frank Lord, Atlanta-based Relex’s chief revenue officer. “That makes us the right partner for C&S, because Relex offers a completely customized solution that is tailored to their specific needs. Relex will help C&S strengthen its inventory management and forecast accuracy, which will ultimately drive its long-term growth.”
“The selection of Relex as part of our roadmap for application modernization will help in advancing C&S’s digital transformation strategy, which will improve capabilities for both our employees and partners,” noted Sudhakar Lingineni, CIO at C&S. “This solution will provide a unified, adaptable and scalable platform with state-of-the art [artificial intelligence and machine learning] for forecasting, buying and replenishment as part of the integrated supply chain optimization initiative.”
Relex also works with Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, DoorDash, FreshDirect, Rite Aid, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores, Keene, N.H.-based C&S services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with 100,000-plus products, in addition to operating corporate stores. The company is No. 17 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top retailers of food and consumables in North America. The parent company of Bronx, N.Y.-based FreshDirect, Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 10 on The PG 100, while Philadelphia-based Rite Aid is No. 21; Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree operating 16,231 stores under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada banners across 48 states and five Canadian provinces, is No. 29; and Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market, employing approximately 31,000 associates, is No. 53.
